How to Survive Your Period ( Pain Med Free ! )

I don’t know if you remember the very first time you noticed that little crimson puddle in your panties but I know my little 12 year old self thought I was about to DIE. It wasn’t just the first sight of blood that made me want to pass out but it was the severe abdominal and lower back pain that I was experiencing for the first time that kept me in bed for days. As soon as I felt my cramps come in on cycle day one, I would essentially drug myself with 5-8 pain killers per day until my period was over. For years I strictly sought out the first thing that would numb my pain quickly without thinking about the true underlying issue of my painful periods. As I’ve grown older and adapted a much healthier lifestyle, I’ve done some research and experimenting on how to survive my period as naturally and pain free as possible. Here are some of the products and rituals that I now use and have worked for me!

Tea Time & Taking My Vitamins

One of the main ways I combat my period woes is by preparing AHEAD of time. I usually start my period rituals a good two weeks ahead of the time when I begin to feel bloated and fatigue. In the week before my actual period I will drink my Wonder Woman Brew every morning. It is an herb mixture of Raspberry leaf, Parsley, Nettles, Oatstraw, Peppermint, Vitex, Rose, and Calendula. Many of these herbs are very strong and are not meant to be ingested for prolonged periods of time. My local herbalist suggested this brew for me to help eliminate breast pain and mood swings during PMS but to NOT drink it longer than a week or during my actual period. Once I began consistently drinking my special brew I noticed having far less bloating and abdominal pain! If you decide to try this blend, I recommend consulting an herbalist first and keeping your water bottle near by to rehydrate!

If you follow me on social media you’ve probably seen me talk about my new favorite vitamins by Ritual! (Many of you call them the “pretty pills” lol). Their Essential for Women vitamins have become a staple for my period survival kit. Unlike many other women multivitamins, Ritual focuses solely on the ingredients women actually need in their bodies! I am approaching my fourth month of Ritual and I can confidently say I have noticed major changes in how I go through my menstrual cycle. During your time of blood loss, your iron levels significantly drop and can result in brain fog, fatigue, and horrid mood swings. While taking my Essential for Women during my period, I was more energized, focused, and overall content. While I’ve never really dealt with severe mood swings I do feel the occasional urge to randomly cry lol! However, since I have made these “pretty pills” part of my routine I have been a much happier gal overall 🙂

P.S. Ritual actually just launched their Essential PRENATAL vitamin today! Even though I’m not currently trying to conceive, I do want to create the healthiest and happiest baby building environment inside me for the future! 45% of pregnancies are unplanned…that’s a LOT of little people that are surprises! But since these little people are the future leaders of our world, we want them to be as healthy and fully developed as possible right? Ritual has sparked a conversation about why it is vital for women to be in tip top shape before discovering their pregnancy and it most definitely doesn’t hurt to start early on building up your system and storage of nutrients for your future little ones. I have been taking Essential Prenatal for about a week myself and feel focused, energized, and fully functional. My favorite part about them is that they smell like lemon candy 😀

( I am a Ritual Ambassador and while these Prenatal Vitamins were gifted, I am also signed up for their monthly subscription ! It’s only $30 a month and is a way more affordable option for me to get all my essential nutrients in just two capsules 🙂 )

Schedule a bit of self-love <3

While I do my best to practice self-love daily, I must say I go out of my way to give myself extra lovin’ during my period. I mean I’m bleeding out for 4-5 days straight- don’t I deserve it? Before adapting my new lifestyle, I used to struggle with severe hormonal acne on my period. It didn’t matter how many top selling cleansers or skincare sets I tried, absolutely nothing worked. At the beginning of this year I discovered the turmeric based supplement brand Golde. I really love their yummy tonics as a hot drink to help soothe cramps and to also use as a face mask! The anti-inflammatory properties of the turmeric tonics greatly reduce menstrual cramping and regulates hormones. My favorite mix is the Matcha Golde Mix simply because I’m obsessed with the matcha taste. I usually mix two-three tablespoons of my Golde Matcha with a cup of hot almond milk to start off my mornings. When I want to use it as a face mask, I will mix it with honey and a bit of apple cider vinegar to give my skin an extra boost of radiance! I leave it on for about 30 mins or so and then rinse with warm water. (Measurements are for the birds, so sorry for the lack of, if you’d like to try it just mix until you have a nice creamy consistency!)

My self-love routine wouldn’t be complete without showing love to the body part that needs the most TLC during my period…oh yes, we are talking about down theeere. Seriously though! Show your girl some love. To help eliminate odor, I shave and trim down my bikini area but this usually leads to painful ingrown hairs and coarse hair growing back. Fur Oil was kind enough to gift me with a bottle of their original Fur Oil to try out and I must say I noticed a difference after my first use. I apply a significant amount of the oil around the areas I want to shave BEFORE and AFTER and I am left with the smoothest shaving job ever. When the hair begins to grow back there aren’t any painful ingrowns! Also, I forgot to mention this oil smells delicious, like citrusy goodness actually. While the scent goes away after a few minutes, I most definitely don’t mind smelling like a lemon cake for a bit !

Additional tips…

Sometimes I’m not the most consistent person in the world and forget to take my vitamins, drink my tea, and forget all about my beauty Matcha mask. I also sometimes cave in to those cravings for super sugar and salty junk food that ultimately leads to more pain come period time. I try my best to avoid dairy and spicy foods during my period and have far less cramping. However, if you still feel like your pain in crippling, try rubbing peppermint oil along your lower back and abdominal area to help calm your muscle spasms and cramps. Just don’t be like me and apply too much because it will for sure burrrrrn.

Also, if you’re like me and still use cotton pads, I highly suggest you begin to read what goes into your feminine products. Many of the main brands contain bleach, dyes, pesticides, and fragrances. These are all super harmful to the woman’s body and should not be placed into an area that directly absorbs it all. I switched to L. organic cotton pads this year and they offer just as much leak protection as the main brands. You can find them at Target and also at thisisl.com !

I really hope I spent the last hour typing up something helpful for you ladies. Your period is something completely normal and talking about it shouldn’t be taboo! If you have any secrets that help you get through your period, let me know!

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This is a really great post, Nicole. Thank you for sharing so much valuable info! One thing I wanted to share as well is that when I switch to a mostly vegan diet two weeks before my period, I notice a gigantic difference in the severity of my cramps. I know not everyone can/wants to adopt a plant-based diet like that, but in case anyone wants to try it, it might be of great benefit.

Thank you for reading 🙂 I actually was on a strictly plant based diet about two years ago but really struggled with staying at a healthy weight (due to me not doing enough research on what my body needed) but yes you’re right! cramps were very minimal when I was vegan! Great tip !